No Big Deal
by Mulderette
Summary: Tony has a bout with appendicitis.  One shot.  Tony-Gibbs. Father-son.


**AN: Just felt like doing a little bit of whump with our favorite whumpable senior field agent. Enjoy :)**

xxxxx

"Aren't you going to eat, Tony?" McGee asked as he reached for a second slice of pizza. Tony hadn't yet had even one slice.

"Not right now," Tony answered, trying not to even look in the direction of the offending dish he usually loved so much. The aroma, which he always found so tantalizing, was only serving to make him feel extremely nauseous.

"Usually you would bite off McGee's arm to get your share," Ziva observed. "Are you dieting?"

"No, I am not dieting," Tony snapped as he glared back at her. "Are you saying that I should be?"

"I did not say that. Do not be so sensitive."

"You're not sick, are you?" McGee asked, taking a closer look at the senior field agent. "You're looking a little bit pale."

"No, I am not sick, McDoctor Quinn. It's no big deal. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to hit the head." With that, Tony hurriedly left the bullpen area. McGee and Ziva exchanged glances and resumed eating their lunch.

xxxxx

Tony entered the men's room and went over to the sink. His face felt hot and he looked at his reflection in the mirror as he splashed some cold water on his face. McGee was right. He did look pale and felt like he was running a fever. He winced as a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. He guessed he was coming down with some kind of a bug or maybe the Chinese food he had eaten the night before had not agreed with him. In either case, it was going to take a lot more than a little upset stomach to keep him down. Feeling a tad better, he headed back to the bullpen area, arriving just as Gibbs did.

"Gear up. We've got a dead marine," Gibbs ordered.

Damn. Whereas, Tony was usually all too eager to be out in the field rather than in the office, today he would have been more than happy to quietly bide his time until he was able to go home and curl up in his comfortable bed. He grabbed his backpack and quickly hurried out after the rest of the team.

xxxxx

"What do you think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked after he finished giving a rundown of the case. He was driving with McGee seated beside him in the passenger seat while Tony and Ziva were sitting in the back. "DiNozzo!" he barked when he received no response to his question.

"Tony is asleep, Gibbs," Ziva informed him. "Shall I wake him?"

"I think he may be sick, boss," McGee quickly chimed in.

"Sick?" Gibbs gave McGee a concerned look, then glanced back at Tony who was huddled against the back door, seemingly dead to the world. "What's wrong with him? Why am I just hearing about this now?"

McGee shrugged. "He didn't admit to being sick, boss. Its just that we had pepperoni and sausage pizza for lunch and he didn't want any. You know how much he likes that. He also just doesn't look so hot."

"Damn it, DiNozzo...why can't you just tell me these things?" Gibbs grumbled softly under his breath. "Don't wake him, Ziva. Just let him sleep until we get there."

They had been in the car for 45 minutes before they finally reached their destination. "Tony?" Ziva called softly, gently shaking his shoulder. "It is time to wake up now. We are here."

"Where are we?" Tony asked as he sleepily rubbed his eyes.

"We are at the crime scene. We need to get to work." Ziva got out of the car and as Tony moved to follow suit, another pain shot through him. He practically doubled over as he clutched at his stomach and took a few deep breaths. Shit...this wasn't good. Finally the pain ebbed enough for him to shakily get out of the car and trail after the team who were walking in the direction of an old, run-down barn.

Gibbs turned around to study his agent and didn't like what he saw. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick, DiNozzo?" he asked as Tony finally caught up to them.

"I'm not sick," Tony said defensively. "Who told you I was?"

"You slept all the way up here and you look like crap. Do you think I'm stupid? I didn't need to be told."

"Its just a little bug...no big deal..."

Gibbs shook his head in disbelief before he and Ziva went to speak with a local law enforcement officer while Tony and McGee made their way into the barn. Inside, they found the nude body of a young man, looking to be in his mid-20s, lying on the floor, his arms and legs tightly bound with wire. His stomach had been sliced open and the contents had been neatly arranged in a circle beside the body. The odor inside the barn, combined with the horrific image, proved to be Tony's undoing. "Oh God," he gasped as he fled from the barn, barely making it outside before he dropped to his knees and violently began to retch.

"Rookie?" the officer Gibbs was speaking with asked with a smirk.

"No, he's not a rookie," Gibbs growled, giving the man a death glare before rushing to Tony's side. He knelt down beside him and put his arms around him, supporting him until Tony mercifully finished vomiting.

"Sor...sorry, boss," Tony said. He was freezing now and couldn't seem to stop shivering. "Guess I am sick after all."

"Where's the nearest hospital?" Gibbs asked the officer whose face now mirrored the concern shown on the faces of McGee and Ziva who were silently watching Tony.

"Its about twenty minutes from here. I can drive you there if you want. Car's right over there," he said pointing.

Gibbs nodded. "Thanks. McGee, help me get him up." The two men gently helped Tony to his feet then half carried him to the waiting police car. "Do you have a blanket or something?" Gibbs asked the officer who nodded and went to get one from the trunk. Gibbs then climbed into the back of the car and he and McGee did their best to get Tony comfortably situated in the too small space. Gibbs sat with his back against the door and his arms around Tony who was cradled against his chest. He could feel the younger man's whole body shaking as he tightened his grasp on him and McGee leaned into the car to cover Tony with a blanket.

"I want you and Ziva to process the scene and wait here for Ducky," Gibbs instructed.

"Got it boss, you'll keep us posted?" McGee asked, clearly very worried about Tony.

"I will," Gibbs promised. McGee then closed the back door of the police cruiser and they were on their way.

"You hanging in there, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. He brushed his hand back through Tony's hair and could feel the heat emanating from his forehead. "You're really burning up."

"Sorry, boss...I...I didn't really think I was this sick." Tony gasped as yet another pain ripped through his abdomen. "Oh God...this really hurts."

"I know it does. We'll be at the hospital soon,'' Gibbs said soothingly, trying hard to calm his agent while inside he was a bundle of nerves. Tony looked like hell and Gibbs was more than a little bit frightened for him.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever, with every bump they encountered increasing Tony's pain. Finally, they arrived. The officer had radioed ahead and hospital personnel were waiting with a gurney at the emergency room entrance. They helped Tony out of the car and transferred him onto the gurney then rushed him into an exam room. Gibbs was left to wait and worry. It wasn't long at all before a doctor came out to speak with him. "It looks like its his appendix," he said. "We're going to send him up for immediate surgery. I'm hoping they can remove it before it bursts."

Gibbs nodded. "What if it does burst?" he asked, concern evident in his eyes.

"Lets not borrow trouble. If it does burst, it does complicate things, but its not unmanageable by any means."

Just then, the transport team came out of the exam room, pushing Tony on a gurney. Gibbs went over to him and gently put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "You hang in there, Tony. I'll be waiting right here when you get out of surgery."

"Don't worry, boss," Tony said, giving Gibbs a woozy smile. "Not going to let a little thing like an appendix keep me down..."

xxxxx

Fortunately, the operation went smoothly and they were able to remove Tony's inflamed appendix before it burst. Gibbs sat beside him in Recovery waiting for his agent to awaken. Finally, he began to stir and opened his eyes, looking up at Gibbs. "Hey boss...what are you doing here?"

"You had surgery, Tony. Remember? They had to take your appendix out."

Tony nodded. "Oh yeah...didn't think anyone would be here though..."

"Of course I'd be here. Where else would I be?"

Tony shrugged. "So, I'm okay now?" he asked. He definitely felt better. The pain he had been feeling was gone now and he felt warm and cozy...sort of like he was drifting on a cloud.

The recovery room nurse came over to check on him and the next thing he knew, Tony had fallen back to sleep. The next time he awoke, he was in a regular hospital room with Gibbs still faithfully by his side.

"Hi, boss. You're still here, I see," Tony said, giving Gibbs a smile.

"Yep, I'm still here. Everyone sends you their best wishes. You gave us quite a scare."

"I'm sorry," Tony said, fidgeting with the blanket that was covering him. "I didn't mean to, you know. I really didn't think it was any big deal"

"Well, it was a big deal. Next time, DiNozzo, you tell me."

"Won't be a next time, boss," Tony quipped with a slight smirk on his face. "Unless there's something medically I don't know about, I'm pretty sure I've only got one appendix."

Gibbs made a move as if to smack the back of Tony's head, but instead, he affectionately tousled his hair. "Don't be such a wise ass. Your appendix almost ruptured...you could have gotten really sick. Hell, you could have died."

"Probably wouldn't have died...even if it had ruptured."

Gibbs shook his head. "What if we had been further away from a hospital?"

"But we weren't."

"But we could have been. Do you even have any idea how much you mean to this team? How much you mean to me?"

"You could always get another senior field agent, boss..." Tony said, looking a little uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

"You are not just a senior field agent to me, Tony," Gibbs said quietly, his blue eyes vivid and full of emotion. "After all these years working together, do you really not know that you're family?"

"I...yeah...I guess I do know that, boss," Tony answered as a faint blush colored his cheeks.

"I need you to remember that...next time you have as much as a sniffle, you tell me."

"A sniffle? Come on boss, I think that's a bit much, don't you?" Tony asked, rolling his eyes.

"You had the damn Plague, DiNozzo. I think I'm well within my rights here, not to mention, its an order."

"Okay, okay...I'll tell you when I have a sniffle. What about hangnails? Do I need to tell you about those too? How about if I stub my toe?"

"What did I tell you about being a wise ass? Get some sleep," Gibbs said, unable to hold back a smile.

"You heading out now?" Tony asked. He didn't really want Gibbs to leave, but wasn't about to admit that either. He couldn't help going back in time to when he had gotten his tonsils out as a boy. It had been shortly after his mother died and his father hadn't even accompanied him to the hospital...he had been too busy with business. The housekeeper had dropped him off and picked him up the next day. He couldn't remember ever feeling so scared and alone. It was why he had been really grateful for Kate staying with him when he contracted the Plague. Though he had joked his way through it, her being there had meant a lot to him.

"Not going anywhere," Gibbs said softly.

"Are you sure? Its okay if you want to leave, you know. That chair doesn't look all that comfortable."

"I'm staying here. If all goes well with you, they'll release you sometime tomorrow and I'll drive you home. McGee dropped the car off at the hospital and he and Ziva are heading back with Ducky."

"Okay, boss..if you're sure...Thank you..." Tony's eyes were becoming heavy-lidded now, but he was struggling to keep them open.

"Don't fight it...go to sleep. I'm going to be right here," Gibbs soothed, as he gently stroked his hair and Tony finally drifted off, feeling safe in the knowledge that Gibbs was keeping a close watch over him.


End file.
